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So to start my blood ravens army I went for 500 pts and have:

2 x Tactical Squads
5 man Scout Sniper Squad
2 x librarians
1 x Rhino

So what should I be aiming for next, terminators, assaults, vehicles? I'm just after opinions and why to direct my new years spending!

You're low on maneuverability and close-combat prowess; I'd advise getting an Assault Terminator squad and some Land Speeders next. Maybe Bikes too.

 AnomanderRake wrote:
You're low on maneuverability and close-combat prowess; I'd advise getting an Assault Terminator squad and some Land Speeders next. Maybe Bikes too.

Seconded. You can't go wrong with Terminators!

 AnomanderRake wrote:
You're low on maneuverability and close-combat prowess; I'd advise getting an Assault Terminator squad and some Land Speeders next. Maybe Bikes too.

Speeders are frail just FYI, I would prefer the termies and bikes

I like the look of the termies, not sure shooty or cc though. no shouts for devastators, jump pack assault or dreadnaughts?

I'm a firm believer in having a little something from every slot in the FOC.

Dread's aren't the best elite slot, but are one of my favorite kits. They also have the advantage that one box can swap arms and roles, so you get a lot of milage from one purchase in a lot of lists. Sternguard or shooty terminators would be my first suggestion for an elite slot.

A devastator box is another thing I suggest to people building armies. Not because Dev squads are particularly good, but all the heavy options help your tac squads. And dev squads can work, but I think one of the tanks or a TFC are stronger HS choices.

Pretty much all of our FA slots are good, it's just a mater of what you like and what your list needs. I like assault squads, and run a 5 man lead by a chaplain frequently. Bikes, both squads and attack bikes, are a good way of getting special weapons (particularly melta) to where you need it. Scout bikes open the door to a lot of fun tricks. But my first suggestion is land speeders. With magnets, or at least a little sticky-tac, you can equip them to fill a number of roles. Similar to the dread, one game you can be hanging back tossing shots down range, and the next rushing forward with flamer and melta.

Thanks for the replies what i'm thinking are a devastator squad, I can inter change these in my tactical squads to give me flexability. Next would be bikes with meltas as fast tank hunters followed by an assault squad for fast anti infantry.

After that probabily a dread and predator or look towards mechanising what i've got


I can see the benefit of land speeders but i'm not a fan of the model and most the attraction to this for me is the modelling.

When in doubt: go with what you think looks cool. There are generally a number of ways to get the same job done. If you want to get some melta into action, you can run attack or regular bikes, speeders, or drop dreads or sternguard. Long range lascannons can be on dreads, preds, devs, or razors. Marines have a lot of different ways to gear up and deal with stuff.

When building a list, just make sure you have the right tools to do the job.

Dealing with:
--Heavy armor
--Light armor
--Hordes
--Flyers
and getting to and holding objectives.

What kind of tool you use doesn't really matter, as long as you cover all your bases.

One last quick newbie question then, whats the differences between a melta gun and a multi melta? ie 3 bikes with melta guns or 3 attack bikes with multi meltas?

ids1984 wrote:
One last quick newbie question then, whats the differences between a melta gun and a multi melta? ie 3 bikes with melta guns or 3 attack bikes with multi meltas?

For bikes, it's mostly a difference in range. On other (non-relentless) units, the fact that one is assault and the other is heavy is a big deal.

ok so the melta are the same power just the multi melta has a larger range?

I would buy a Razorback box if i were you and then some sternguard

From what I see you have more like 670 points (assuming that the tac squads are 10 man and no upgrades)
You could add 5 or 6 sternguard (put them in the rhino to shoot out the top until they can unleash combi-weapons) With the remaining 170pts or so you could get a dakka pred (TL autocannon + heavy bolters) and 2 razorbacks for your tac squads

Termies - assault marines.

I have my own "rules" when starting out an army. Naturally the two troop choices and the HQ are part of it but I also go with one heavy support and then one more unit depending on the way I want the army to work. When I started my marines I went with two squads of scouts, one bolter and one sniper squad to be exact, a captain, a predator tank and scout bikers for example (just want to mention that the army was supposed to be a scout force and the main idea was the look and feel, not the competitiveness).

As you already mentioned that you want the devastator squad the box is a damn good way to get different heavy weapon choices for tactical squads. That is the main reason I got them. But when making the actual devastator squad my recommendation would be 4 missile launchers. A versatile weapon and the squad cost wont go way too high.

ids1984 wrote:
ok so the melta are the same power just the multi melta has a larger range?

The key part to the longer range is the longer melta range. A multi melta uses the extra melta die at the full range of a melta gun. On a relentless unit, this is very important.